Saskatoon real estate week in review: April 1-7, 2012

Saskatoon real estate sales continued to bounce for the eighth week in a row. This was a down week as sales of house and condos fell fifty units compared to the previous week. Local agents reported just 63 firm sales to the multiple listing service®, about even with numbers recorded during the same week a year ago.

New listings, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction with the Saskatoon real estate market recording one of its busiest periods since May of 2009. Over the past six days, 192 houses and condos were added to the MLS® system, up nearly 80 units from last week, and well above the 148 Saskatoon homes that hit the market over the same period a year ago.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

After a brief retreat last week, the total inventory of residential listings on the Saskatoon multiple listing service® began to move higher again, but at a slower pace than you might have expected given the large difference between new listings and sales. A total of 56 cancelled and withdrawn listings, combined with 42 listings that expired at the end of March kept the numbers from advancing very much. MLS® inventory advanced by just 29 properties from the close of the previous week to reach 1060, falling short of numbers available at the same time last year by a full 200 units. The largest declines continue to be seen in the condominium category that has declined by 113 units in a year’s time to just 356 available units. Single family-home inventory fell by 93 properties during the same period of time and reached just 624 homes by the end of the week.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

In spite of last week’s lofty prices, the median sale price of a Saskatoon home managed to advance another seventy five hundred dollars this week when it reached $339,900. At the same time, the weekly average fell nearly thirty-five thousand dollars to $330,663. This week’s numbers were driven more by an absence of low-end sales than it was impacted by an abundance of high-end sales. There were only 11 sales recorded below the $250,000 mark. Meanwhile, the six-week average price fell about thirty-five hundred dollars from a week ago to $327,735 recording a year-over-year gain of almost 28K. The four-week median price inched up just nine hundred dollars compared to last week and closed at $312,900 for an annual increase of roughly twenty-six thousand dollars.

Click the image for a larger version of the graph.

Sales occurring at levels exceeding the asking price remained fairly conservative at just five properties. The average overbid was quite strong at almost fifteen thousand dollars, but much of that can be attributed to one Nutana area bungalow that sold for an amazing $72,000 above the asking price. Units that traded at the full asking price did come in pretty strong. A total of 18 sellers (28 percent of all sales) received offers of their full list price. Another 40 sellers accepted less than they had hoped for with an average underbid of $9,135.

About TeamFisher

We are a high quality, full-service real estate team comprised of skilled buyer and seller agents who specialize in web-based marketing, high-end customer service and specific neighbourhood knowledge.
Our home seller specialists tap into the best practices of the web and employ their skills as writers, photographers and marketers to showcase your home in the most elegant manner.
We know Saskatoon, we love living here and our dedicated home buyer specialists pride themselves on being able to help you select a neighbourhood and a home that will meet your family's needs well into the future.
We are TeamFisher, your best move.